Old Mystery Tree: ID Help Needed

[tigger]

Walking in my local woods today (in Dorset) I came across this old tree. No other trees like it around.

It's girth is at least 6m at 1m from the ground, and it is very tall. Its trunk was twisted. It has lost it's bark very badly (there was a lot around the bottom of the trunk) and many of it's boughs look like they have died, but I'm sure it's still alive.

The leaves around it's base were as shown in the following photo and were 15cm long.

You can also see three other shots of the actual tree.

Any ideas what it might be? I want to add it to the ancient tree hunt website. I've been through my Book of Trees and can't spot it....

Thanks - Jane

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by tigger

Walking in my local woods today (in Dorset) I came across this old tree. No other trees like it around.
It's girth is at least 6m at 1m from the ground, and it is very tall. Its trunk was twisted. It has lost it's bark very badly (there was a lot around the bottom of the trunk) and many of it's boughs look like they have died, but I'm sure it's still alive.
The leaves around it's base were as shown in the following photo and were 15cm long.

The leaf looks a bit like a chestnut (leaf).

[paulchandler6]

Leaf shape looks very much like Sweet Chestnut or even Chestnut leaved Oak maybe. Did you find any seed pods nearby?

Paul

[eeyore]

my money would be on a sweetchestnut - the twisty form of the bark/trunk is quite distinctive - Its probably been pollarded in the past , perhaps as a parish boundary pollard which wpould account for its large girth.

[tigger]

Yes, I've got an idea it is a Sweet Chestnut... having looked into it a bit more it looks like it has got very bad "bleeding canker" as well. This tree may not be with us much longer! Real shame... I will try to get some seed pods...just to make sure it is a sweet chestnut.

Thanks for your help.

[Cotham Marble]

Agree - sweet chestnut. They were frequently pollarded and even coppiced. They are prone to rot and pollarding is actually a way of keeping them going - the tree in the picture has probably suffered from not being kept under a pollarding regime. Certainly looks like time has caught up with it.

CM

[Frimsley]

Sweet chestnut.

But don't jump to any bleeding canker conclusions. The current big scare about bleeding canker is bleeding canker of horse chestnut. They are very, very different trees, not even slightly related.

For future reference, close ups of twig buds are probably the most useful pics at this time of year if your asking for ident.

[coasty]

Agree the leaf looks like a sweet chestnut , Would be surprised if there are no remains of the chest nut shells about they takes to rot down,,,,

[Adam Cheeseman]

Hi Jane,

Definitely a Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa

We have quite a few like that around in Surrey.

As SCs mature their bark twists round.

Cheers,

Adam